The problem that no one is solving is ownership. If I pay $15 for movie from vdio, what happens if that company goes away? Why can't I switch my collection from iTunes to amazon, etc...
Ultimetly that is the top reason I avoid buying digital content. It's a frustrating issue, and legislation should be passed to guarantee consumer protection on their digital goods.
Nobody is solving the problem because for many many people it isn't a problem. I subscribe to RDIO and it doesn't concern me in the slightest that i don't own any of the music i listen to. I subscribe to netflix and it doesn't concern me that i don't own the TV shows that i watch. Content exists to be enjoyed, not to be owned. For a long time, owning a copy of the content was the best way to be able to enjoy it, that isn't necessarily the case any more.
If ownership is important to you, buy DVDs. Paying $15 to "own" a movie on VDIO (or iTunes, or amazon) seems pretty stupid to me. we don't need legislation to protect consumers from this sort of business, consumers are generally smart enough not to pay the equivalent of 2 months of netflix in order to watch a single movie.
The keyword you used is "subscribe". I also enjoy subscription music like Rdio (I previously used Zune) and movies with Netflix.
But the problem is that Vdio, like iTunes or Amazon, is not subscription based. Rather you pay one-time for a lifetime (of the service) license to the content (with an exception being rentals) and access to the stream and/or DRM-laden content.
Yes, i understand that subscription services are different to "ownership" type services. But i'm saying that subscription services are the solution to the "ownership problem". you never really own digital content, so rather than demanding laws to pretend we own digital content, let's all just stop pretending. if you want to consume digital content, a subscription service is the solution.
I don't listen to very much music, do Rdio and Spotify get the new albums as soon as they are released? With movies and TV there is usually a very long waiting period before they appear on Netflix and Amazon Prime. I'm not sure what a subscription service would cost that had all of the newly released movies but I'm pretty sure it's more than any person would be willing to spend.
Rdio and Spotify do typically get albums the day they are released (assuming the appropriate contract is already in place with the artist and label).
Movies and TV shows are completely different beasts. For Movies, you typically can only see them in Theaters long before buying, renting, netflix, pay-per-view, etc. TV shows aren't available until after their broadcast date, and sometimes not until months later. And the completeness of the catalog for TV shows on hulu/netflix/etc is EXTREMELY thin compared to the music catalog of Rdio/Spotify; even if you only consider current TV shows.
The real problem lies in the fact that most consumers don't realize that it's an issue. It only hits them when it actually happens. Those of us in the tech community are more forward thinking when it comes to this sort of stuff. Would you care if you paid $15 for a movie, then a few months later the service shut down and you couldn't watch it anymore? I bet you would. Would your mom/dad/grandparents/etc care? Most likely.
They don't care pre-emptively, but it only takes getting burned once after sinking hundreds or thousands into a dead platform that they start to get skeptical.
While this is most certainly a good point (and I'm in the same boat), considering we don't even have protections on a lot of physical goods in this space, I don't see it coming along any time soon.
I could see protection happening on the digital landscape. With the physical merchandise it was tougher for a consumer to understand their lack of rights, but sadly I agree it will be tough.
It's odd though. I bet there are huge groups of "horder collectors" that exist and are holding back only because of the clear lack of ownership rights. I know my digital collection would be 500+ strong by now, instead of the mear 4 or 5 shows I've purchased for a quick fix.
UltraViolet is only a solution as long as the studios behind it consider it viable. When they move onto the next platform, your 'ownership' of a digital copy will be worthless.
Ultimetly that is the top reason I avoid buying digital content. It's a frustrating issue, and legislation should be passed to guarantee consumer protection on their digital goods.